RP:I See Your Cyclops Barkeep & Raise You One Blind Girl
Hanging Corpse Tavern
Rayala pads down the stairs barefoot, feeling her way with her feet. Her right arm leans against the wall, her left out in front of her, fingers curling in the air. She pauses at the bottom of the steps, breathing heavily. She wears a long shirt she has found upstairs, somewhere, tucked in the back of a closet. It smells a bit musty, but it covers the scar across her body. The scar on her face is covered by bandages, the only way she has found thus far to hide it from view. She stumbles, slightly, trying to find the bar, but manages okay. Steadmen has food waiting for her. "Thanks Steady," she mumbles, voice heavy with exhaustion. In return, the barkeep grunts. Ray, for her part, laughs a little and, now she is seated, swings her legs beneath her, back and forth under the stool.
Satoshi, seated two barstools down, had been for the most part lost in her wineglass. Up until the stranger had reached the bottom of the stairs and required a moment to catch their breath. That... that had caught the magus' eye. It is a visible display of vulnerability, most uncommon in a predator's den like the Corpse, and thus Satoshi can't help but take notice. With curious eyes, she watches the bandaged girl make her way to the bar, thank Steadman, and take a seat. Satoshi spends a moment longer simply gazing at the stranger, silently trying to read what little can be spoken through appearances. Blind, or pretending to be--although Satoshi would bet on the former, as there's an aura of injury about the girl, something that speaks to the hunter beneath the kit's fluffy looks. Satoshi lifts her glass of bloodwine to her lips, savoring a drink before placing the vessel down once more with a purposeful clink against the bartop. The sound is meant to alert the bandaged girl to Satoshi's nearby presence before the magus speaks, tones light and musical in nature, "Rough night, madam~?"
Rayala stills as she hears the klink of the glass -- as still as the usually whimsical and somewhat capricious girl can manage, that is. Her legs stop swinging, at the very least. She hugs her right arm to her side with her left -- the former being useless at the moment for all but gross motor movements and the latter moving swiftly as though to protect it. She cants her head to the side, freeing better the ear closest to Satoshi. The young dragon would focus, trying to sense in the air around her where the air isn't, in order to pick up on location. Satoshi's musical intonation would cut through the air cleanly, and, thus focused, Rayala would turn her body to face the woman, though her face and head may remain tilted. She smiles, radiantly, hoping to belie her anxiety. The scar on her left cheek that would poke out from the bandage there, indicative of a larger whole, would tighten slightly. "The night was okay," her words are accompanied by a laugh, genuine, at least, "It was the day I could have done without."
Satoshi murmurs a soft, "Ah" as she lifts the glass for another sip. She uses this to mull over the stranger's words and appearance another moment. "I hope you left the other one", a faint 's' follows the word, to note Satoshi's uncertainty about who, what, or how many caused Rayala's injuries, "worse off than yourself. Are you from around these parts? You don't quite have the... ah, look, of the usual citizens. Less shambly, and far more warm-skinned, y'know~." The magus' own aura, while as frigid as a ghost's fingers, is reined in enough to be noticeable without being intrusive. It's a unconscious gesture of courtesy from Satoshi, who otherwise tends to let the chill surrounding her drift freely in Vailkrin, where the undead do not object to cold.
Rayala would reach for a fork upon the counter before her. The eggs on the plate have probably gotten cold, but the girl wouldn't mind. At the mention of the other, the man she had battled, she snarls, a low growl viciously escaping her throat. She stops it, abruptly. A look of shock would grace her features, though under the bandages it may not be noticeable. She shakes her head, clearing it. "No, he's....He's healed. Though, I expect Riss may have left some lasting damage, yesterday." She speaks before realizing the woman wouldn't know what had happened. "We fought. He was injured. He healed. He saw me, here, two days later, attacked the tavern." The dragon sighs, wonders if she's even making any sense. She shakes her head, again, laughs at Satoshi's next words. "I'm safe here. I'm not from around here, it is," she hesitates, not wanting to offend -- for she really does mean the temperature -- "it's a little cold." She offers a sympathetic smile. "But I..I like the people. I like the legends. You know, two weeks ago, I didn't even know Vampires existed?" She bites her lip. "And now I'm learning they are both everything and nothing of their legends." She would register the cold coming from the lady, but would hardly register it as an aura. She shovels eggs into her mouth, finally having found the fork, fingers gripping it as a lifeline. Half the eggs fall off of it, onto the bar, but she wouldn't notice. She reaches out, misses the plate with the fork, and stabs absentmindedly until she makes contact with more of the rubbery food.
Satoshi's vulpine ears swivel forward suddenly. Riss. He's back? At least with the bandages over the stranger's eyes, she won't have to see Satoshi's mouth twist into a fanged grin, eyes alight with a predatory gleam. Steadman catches the look, though, and gives the kit his best one-eyed glare--a few degrees chillier than his usual scowl. It's a silent demand to keep the trouble out of the Corpse. In compliance, Satoshi bows her head to the barkeep before looking back at the girl, interest clear in her voice, "Attacked the tavern, you say? Who was this devil? Although, from what I know of Riss, the unfortunate bastard is probably dead now~." Chuckling, Satoshi falls silent then to watch Rayala blindly eat. The struggle causes the kit to tip her head to one side, a slight frown marking her face and entering her voice, "Are you in need of a healer? I'm afraid you won't find many here, painful business, but you are not far from Kelay, where you can find members of the Guild. They're excellent at their work."
Rayala wouldn't be able to see the predatory gleam, regardless of the bandages. She struggles with her food for another moment before giving it up as a lost cause. "Can I just have some milk?" Her voice is soft, slightly pained, as though she wants nothing more than solid food. In response to the request, Steadman would snigger, triggering a defensive. "All right, then -water-!" from the girl. She receives the glass gracefully, when offered -- Steadman places it upon the bar where her fingers already lie, allowing the cold glass to drip colder water upon her fingers. She clenches it, takes a sip before responding to Satoshi. "Nazarus. Yes, he attacked the tavern." She bites her lip, slightly, "You haven't seen Riss around, have you? I haven't seen him since the battle. I would so like to know if he's killed the bastard, yet". The curse would seem out of place on the fragile woman's face, but one cannot deny there is a kind of fierceness about her. "My body heals itself," she says, with a small laugh, "Though I think it may have done so prematurely." She turns to the woman, again. "But it wouldn't allow me to take any other form while I was healed." She grimaces, gestures aimlessly with the waterglass, towards herself. "I think, perhaps, it'd be too late. Well, you can probably see it." She purses her lips at the word "see," struggling to contain something behind her lips that escapes eventually as a high, tinkling laugh. Amidst these chuckles, she'd add, "I certainly can't." before beseeching the lady, "It looks horrible, doesn't it? Someone last night said it looked pretty bad." Clearly the woman has forgotten she has hidden her face behind bandages. "Tell the truth," she says, "It's not like I have mirrors to look into anymore."
Satoshi shakes her head, only to realize a moment afterwards how useless a gesture that is. "No, sorry, I have not seen Riss. I will keep an eye out for him, and point him your way, if you like? As for how it looks? Hm." Satoshi tips back on her barstool to examine Rayala as a whole before continuing, "I've seen worse, far, far worse. And I've known Queen Thea to repair much more serious damage. If you fear for your natural recovery, I would suggest seeking her out. She heads the Healer's Guild, she is a master of the art."
Rayala smiles in response, accepting the judgement. "I suppose it's all relative, anyway, no?" She takes another sip of water. "I'll be around, I imagine, when he shows up." she says, in reference to Riss. Distractedly, she plays with her glass. "I suppose I shouldn't be -happy- that you've seen worse," she says, "but I am, nonetheless." She would hear the creak of a barstool, and tenses, as though trying to figure out whether or not it is the woman next to her or another patron. She throws her remaining senses into overdrive, uselessly. "I may seek out this Queen," she says, tentatively, and she means it, although she'd pass the name by a friend or two, first. "I'm Ray," she says, "Well...there's more to it than 'Ray', but it's me nonetheless." She offers another smile to the lady. This time she turns her body, her face follows, though her left hand would remain upon the glass and it would scrape along the countertop. "How has your day been? Also, what's your name?"
Satoshi hops down from the barstool to land impossibly lightly upon the ground, with nary a 'thud' to announce the shift in weight. Ghosts stir no more dust than she does. Despite Rayala not being able to see, Satoshi still grins up at her then and offers a playful salute. "I'm afraid it's time I continued my work. It was a pleasure, Ray, and I do hope you seek out the Pixie Queen to ease your wounds. I'm sure we'll cross paths again. Especially if you ever visit Frostmaw," as the magus talks, she moves toward the door, stopping at the threshold to add, "Just ask for Satoshi~."
Rayala would not notice the woman jumping down, without noise, but may give a slight stir at the change in direction of her voice. She turns, overcompensating slightly, to face herself slightly to Satoshi's left. She offers a "cheers" like gesture in return with her glass of water, and inclines her head. She's heard of frostmaw, at least. "Bye, now," the dragoness would whisper as Satoshi slips away.